Dr. Darron T. Smith explains that white artists like Justin Bieber enjoy the benefits of “acting black” without shouldering the racial burden of being black.

In what took Usher most of his 20-year music career to accomplish, it took Justin Bieber just a short five years to reap similar financial success and actually surpass his mentor. Usher Raymond IV was an R&B phenom who started his career much like Bieber as a young teen and is among America’s top selling artists. He saw something special in the young star during their initial meetings. But that does not explain the rate in which Bieber shot to fame compared to his current counterparts such as Jason Derulo, Trey Songz and even Chris Brown. In fact, Justin Bieber rose to financial prowess singing R&B/pop music faster than any other black entertainer, ever, despite this being a genre created by their own kin.

This is something W.E.B. Du Bois referred to as the “wages of whiteness” in his seminal work, Black Reconstruction. The inherent worth and sublime value of white skin privilege (in part) captures that “something more” that Usher articulated in reference to Bieber during his 2010 interview with the LA Times. With his unearned privilege, Bieber was able to emulate his black contemporaries and generate massive profits beyond their reach. As his early appearance was that of a clean-cut “boy-next-door” from Canada with good looks (and luscious locks) singing pop, he has since morphed his image into the pants-sagging, tattooed “bad boy,” suffusing his music with an urban contemporary vibe. This is an attempt at acting cool, and his public “persona” is imbedded within popular perceptions of black manhood.

Black men and boys are “onstage” every day. Their audience, both outside whites as well as other blacks in or outside their communities, can be caught looking in on them, observing how they walk, talk, dress and adapt to their social environments.

Black men and boys are “onstage” every day. Their audience, both outside whites as well as other blacks in or outside their communities, can be caught looking in on them, observing how they walk, talk, dress and adapt to their social environments. For whites, these patterns are frequently seen in widespread media portrayals that represent the “thug life” and gang banging most often associated with black males. But for blacks, this posing of “coolness” becomes a symbol of acceptance among peers.

Cool masculinity or “cool pose,” according to Majors and Billson, is a way of being for many black males, a performance born out of the stark realities of centuries-old white supremacy and ongoing oppression. Black bodies become the instrument used to hold at bay the anxiety-related troubles brought on by daily insults from members of the dominant group and the institutions they control. This form of ritualized masculinity is typically seen in the sporting world, the hip-hop scene and other spaces where black males congregate. Cool pose is about self-presentation of style — the art of aloofness and emotional detachment, postulating toughness and strength as acceptable forms of male behavior. But in reality, these narratives revolve around the struggle for self-determination and the validation of manhood.

Because blacks have little to no control over their social condition in life, cool pose then is a source of empowerment. It was erected deep within the psychology of black men and boys to assuage the pain and legacy of restricted opportunities from mainstream sources of success to include material wealth and comfort, components of the “American Dream.” When viewed and labeled by the white world as deviant, deficient, promiscuous, criminal and incompetent, cool provides the smokescreen to hide the torment and anger deep within the soul.

This process of self-preservation is accomplished with a distinct style of coping through surface acting, an exhibition of physical actions intended to ward off the harmful effects of white racism and cynicism that can lead to feelings of self-doubt and interpersonal angst. Cool enhances the ego and sense of pride while concealing deep scars of black male group marginalization. Not always done under conscious impulses, but instead involves unconscious thought and actions, it allows some black males to present a hard exterior by showing little or no fear in situations that dictate a dynamic interaction. Cool pose is about the maintenance of rough and tumble masculinity through the demands of living in a black body, enabling black males to develop thick skin through interpersonal strivings to enhance their self-esteem. Cool, then, is a projection of confidence in the midst of insecurity, and being cool brings some semblance of order to life for black males that they might not otherwise have.

People are stereotypically drawn to cool black males because they represent vitality, making them instantly marketable. The way black males are casted in the media highlights the aesthetics of cool, rendering it a commodity to be bought and sold by the sports/entertainment industrial complex. But cool came about as a way to survive the harsh brutality and environmental morass of slavery and its lingering effects up until the present day. In a racist society where stigmatized males of color are locked out of virtually every major institution and denied access to jobs, high quality education and decent and affordable health care, all that is left to defend is one’s pride, something that many black men lose their lives over daily in some form as a consequence of being cool.

Cool pose is about self-presentation of style — the art of aloofness and emotional detachment, postulating toughness and strength as acceptable forms of male behavior. But in reality, these narratives revolve around the struggle for self-determination and the validation of manhood.

Even still, whites have a long history of appropriating coolness, not caring to know its pathogenic origins, particularly in music. Because many whites feel that US society is now “post racial,” enabling them to “get their black on” without a physical presence in the black community, white label executives package black culture and style through white artists without the burdens of racial disadvantage. Manufacturing coolness for white consumption through the use of black memes is a burgeoning industry, it always has been.

This is an important finding when cultivating a white blue-eyed mainstream soul performer touched by African American musical expression and inspiration that lends to their own blending of unique panache. Elvis was one of the original white artists to gain worldwide fame by performing iterations of black music and black “moves.” In more recent years, Memphis’s other native son, Justin Timberlake as well as Eminem, Macklemore and Robin Thicke have all been celebrated for capturing in song or sound the spirit of black music, and they have all made a killing in record sales and digital downloads. But none more than Justin Bieber who’s net worth is a reported 200 million dollars.

Bieber’s most recent release, Journals, is his commitment to that tradition which features a more grown up and urban sound from his syrupy “Baby” pop tunes days. But when Bieber is not in the studio laying down tracks for his next project, he has been working his constructed persona, displaying cool pose in the media. Bieber’s appeal, couched in his public image of coolness and swagger (i.e., hats, clothing, gold chains, tats, etc.), makes him very marketable indeed. But it is well known that he had little interaction with black folk prior to his musical success (as seen in images of him with his group of all white friends from Canada). Thus, to maximize his believability as an R&B crooner with crossover appeal, Bieber was assigned a “swagger coach” to learn the tools of the trade. Ryan Good was hired to refine his image in ways acceptable to white audiences while optimizing coolness. The message — be cool, but not too black.

Representation of blackness as exotic and base, closer to nature and animal-like are racial frames lodged deep in the minds of most white Americans. Because racism is foundational to the American experience, all things associated with blackness has been deemed different, deficient and outside the confines of white normativity. The process works differently, however, when white males perform (musically and physically) black music. These young, white artists are regaled by their fans, earning a legion of global followers and the spoils of fame.

The Scooter Brauns of the music industry (the man credited with discovering Bieber) are on the constant lookout for the next white, “cool” soul artist to fill the coffers. The intersection of white, male-gendered privilege and their superior position atop of the US racial hierarchy makes these border crossings into black music seamless. When white artists adopt hip-hop or R&B as their preferred art form, they do so from a perspective that is out of context. Hence, another generation of new comers like Austin Mahone, the incarnation of Bieber, can enjoy the benefits of “acting black” without shouldering the racial burden of being black.

About Darron Smith

Dr. Darron T. Smith is a frequent political and cultural commentator for Huffington Post and Your Black World on various issues of inequality in the form of racism, classism and other systems of U.S. based oppression. He has also contributed to various forums from Religion Dispatches and ESPN's Outside the Lines to The New York Times and Chicago Tribune op-ed sections.

Dr. Smith’s research spans a wide myriad of topics on including healthcare disparities, Religious studies, Race & Sports, Transracial Adoption and the Black Family. His current research focuses on healthcare workforce discrimination involving African American physician assistants. He is the co-author of White Parents, Black Children: Experiencing Transracial Adoption as well as the co-editor of Black and Mormon andThe Impact of Social Factors on Health: A Critical Reader for the Physician Assistant. His current book, The Truth About the Honor Code: When Race, Religion & Sports Collide, is scheduled for release in 2015.

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^Dontworryaboutit And this sounds like the typical response from somebody who watches and listens to too much Fox News, Rush Limbaugh at best and if I’m not being too impolite here, David Duke and Pat Buchanan at worst. Please re-read the article, consider how negative stereotypes towards a minority benefits in infinitesimal ways a/the majority culture, and than give an actually educated response. There’s no question that Justin is a talented guy even if his music isn’t your particular cup of tea, but if he were a black and had gotten into half the trouble with the police, DUI’s, pot… Read more »

Disagreement makes one racist? I disagree with the author and you. Does that me me double racist or do I get some other unearned personal attack? The Article is poorly researched and lacks credibility. Pop Music is full of young black men who have been incredibly successful despite criminal mischief similar to Biebers’. I find it quite disturbing how you and the author equate certain behaviors with “young black male” culture- the last person I heard making those associations might have been David Duke… How interesting it is to see how the far left nearly intersects with the fringe right…

This sounds like a bitter black man that is jealous of another white person’s success. People prefer to listen to music they can relate to (that really is the point of music anyways). It is easier for a white person to relate to another white person, therefor white people will tend to buy music from white artists more often. It is isn’t racism, it is human nature.

Bieber thinks he’s captured “Black” music into his own. The only thing he’s really done is obsfucate the music and stayle one segment of society to make it his own, and thereby fit in, becpome one of “them” and make tons of money doing so. I personally have no problem with this, my problem is with him. Justin also thinks to be a part of this culture and its many facets, he has to act so tough and bad. First of all it slaps African Americans in the face, myself included by pairing music snd behaviors , neither of which… Read more »

Elvis did the same thing. He took music from the likes of Little Richard and made it popular… simply because he was white. Without understanding the passion, the lifestyle and the emotions behind the songs. Which , why this next statement has made a lot of people dislike me. Little Richard was more the King of Rock and Roll than Elvis ever was. Elvis was like Edison… someone that took the idea, from someone else, and sold it to people in a nice, clean package. Justin Bieber can pretend anything that he wants… that will never change who he is… Read more »

Elvis did the same thing. He took music from the likes of Little Richard and made it popular… simply because he was white. Without understanding the passion, the lifestyle and the emotions behind the songs. youre wrong about the passion, the lifestyle and the emotions part. ‘From a very early age growing up in a poor Southern community Elvis spent much of his early years absorbing the music of local impoverished black communities like Shake Rag in Tupelo and later on the Beale Street area of Memphis. This was not normal behavior, but then Elvis was not your average guy.… Read more »